Utah to appeal gay marriage ruling directly to Supreme Court

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is going straight to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge a federal appeals court ruling that found states must allow gay couples to marry.

State Attorney General Sean Reyes' office said in a statement Wednesday it will file an appeal to the high court sometime in the next couple of weeks, rather than taking its case to the entire 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On June 25, a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit in Denver ruled 2-1 that states cannot deprive same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry. The decision upheld a December ruling from a lower court that overturned Utah's gay marriage ban. Voters approved the ban in 2004.

The rulings have come during a remarkable winning streak for gay marriage activists since the Supreme Court last year struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act.